Dear Friends,
The big Warren, VT 4th of July parade was a huge success and once again the Prickly Mountain float was the hit of the parade. It was a gigantic Bernie puppet rocking the SS. Status Quo. We had our traditional strawberry daiquiri party and my hands were stained red from cutting berries. It was great to see family and friends celebrating the birthday of the USA.
I am beginning to like Apple Music a lot. I might be the only one at the office that isn’t that impressed with Beats 1 but I do like the new paradigm of dealing with music. I have access to Apple’s entire library and get some pretty good suggestions for new music and playlists the match my tastes. I think that I will make out fine with the $14.99 family plan because I tend to buy more than that each month in music and now I can just download whatever I want. It will broaden my musical experience, too, as I will try a lot more music if it doesn’t have a dollar sign next to it. Now that the 3rd beta of iOS 9 is out I can enjoy it on my iPhone, too.
The latest beta versions of El Capitan and iOS 9 were released this week and aside from the normal bug fixes the first two things I have noticed is that this latest version of iOS 9 includes the News app which allows you to customize your news feed. I started playing around with that and can see how that will easily become one of my most used apps. Also, this version activates Apple Music for iOS, too. There is a new setting in Settings that allows Apple Music to stream high quality over cellular – but watch your data plan if you activate this!
This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is a home automation special. I use Kevo Bluetooth locks on my homes and I love them. Opening and locking the door is as easy as touching the lock. No more fumbling for keys. As long as you have your iPhone on you the lock will open and close when you touch it. Installation is simple, especially if you already have a deadbolt lock on your door. Better yet, you have electronic keys that you can send via email. You can send an eKey to anyone and enable or disable that key remotely. You can also pre-set when that key is going to work and when it stops working so if you have someone that needs to get in to your house to fix something, you can send them an eKey to let them in and when they leave that key is no longer active. The Kwikset Kevo also works in conjunction with the Nest thermostat for even greater home automation it senses when you come home and asks if you want to adjust the thermostat. Normally $219.99, these locks come in polished brass, satin nickel or Venetian bronze. This week for Kibbles & Bytes readers you can get this simple and versatile lock for only $189.99!